Machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 T. A. WEBER.

LABELING MACHINE.

Patented May 17,1898.

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T. A. WEBER. LABELING MACHINE.

No. 604,182. Patented May 17,1898.

I Nrrnn STATES PATENT FFICE.

THEODORE A. WEBER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO FREDERICK HASBROUOK,OF SAME PLACE.

LABELING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 604,182, dated May 17',189 8. A li tio fil d June 5, 1897. Serial No. 639,537. (No model.)

To atZZ whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, THEODORE A. WEBER, of New York, in the county andState of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement inLabeling-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in labeling-machines in whichprovision is made for successively separating individual labels from astack or supply, gumming them, and applying them to the bottle, whateverbe the shape of the opposite edges of the label.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view of the machine inside elevation, the parts being in the position which they assume whenone label is being applied to the bottle and a succeeding label is beingfed onto the carrier to be advanced into position to be applied toanother bottle. Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the same. Fig. 3 is avertical longitudinal section taken centrally through the machine, themain label-applying device being shown in elevation. Fig. 4 is a view inend elevation looking from right toward the left. Fig. 5 is a transversesection in the plane of the line 5 5 of Fig. 1,1ooking toward the left.Fig. 6 is a similar view looking toward the right; and Fig. 7 is a viewin detail, showing a vertical sectional view of the label lifting andgumming device in a plane transversely of the machine.

The main frame of the machine consists of a table A, supported uponsuitable legs a, the latter being connected by cross-braces a andstringers o as may be found desirable, to give the frame the necessaryrigidity and located in position to afford convenient sup ports for thebearings of the operating parts. The table A may be extended beyond theportion here shown as convenience may require.

The main drive-shaft of the machine is denoted by B and is mounted insuitable bearings in the frame beneath the table A and driven from anysuitable source. (Not shown.)

From the table A there uprises a bottle-supporting standard 0, provideda short distance above the table with an overhanging portion in whichthere is formed a seat 0 for the base of the bottle D, to which thelabel is to be attached. The standard 0 is further provided with anoverhanging extension 0, which extends above the bottle toward the neckthereof and is provided on the under side of its free end with aspring-arm 0 which may be adjusted away from the under side of the armbymeans of a screw 0 seated in the end of the arm for the purpose ofoperating a tripping-plunger in the head of the neck-labelapplyingdevice, to be hereinafter more particularly explained. There is providedalso a second uprising standard 0, spaced a short distance from thestandard 0 and provided at its upper end with a seat 0 for the receptionof the bottle D at the base portion of its neck, and from the seat 0there extend branches 0 0 upon opposite sides of the neck of the bottlefor the purpose of guiding the neck-label into its position on the seat0 so that when the bottle D is placed in position to receive the mainlabel on its body the auxiliary label may be at the same time attachedto the bottle at its neck portion.

The labels to be applied to the body of the bottle are stacked in aholder E and are fed toward the open top of the holder by means of afollower e, actuated by a screw 6, the screw being in turn actuated by aratchet-nut eiwhich is engaged at each revolution of the shaft by a pawle of any well-known or approved form, on the end of a reciprocating arm6 the means for imparting motion to which will be hereinafter described.

The labels are lifted one by one from the top of the stack in the holderE, gummed, and carried to a pair of feed-rollers by means of thefollowing mechanism:

A hollow label lifting, gumming, and carrying head (denoted by F) has atthe opposite ends of its bottom strips f of some suitable yieldingabsorbent material-such, for example, as feltthe position of the stripsf corresponding to the opposite ends of the label as it lies flat in theholder E. The hollow head F is provided with a solution of some suitableglue,which is fed gradually to the absorbent strips f through smallopenings f in the bottom of the head F, the flow of the liquid gluethrough the openings f being regulated by needle-valves f which have ascrew-threaded engagement with sockets in the top of the ing-collar g,located in the present instance about midway of its length and inposition to engage an operating-cam 5, carried by the drive-shaft B. Therod 9 is held in position to engage the cam 12 and permitted to rise andfall by the action of the cam, through its connection with stationarysupporting-standards g 9 by links g 9 While thelifting motion is goingon by the cam 19, there is a rocking motion lengthwise of the machineimparted to the arms G G by means of a vibrating lever H, pivoted at hat the base of the frame and provided with a laterally-projecting pin h,(see Fig. 5,) which is caused to travel in a cam-groove h in the face ofa disk h fixed to rotate with the shaft B. The free end of the lever IIis provided with a cross-bar h the opposite ends of which are connected,respectively,with the arms G and G by links 71 h". the pawl to turn thefeed-screw e to feed the labels to the top of the holderE is connectedto the cross-bar 77, so that the feed of the screw will take placeduring either the advance or return movement of the label-carryinghead-in the present instance during its return movementand while thelabel-carrying head is raised from the stack of labels in the holder. Asthe label carrying head reaches the limit of its advance movement thefront-edge of the label carried thereby will be received between thefaces of a pair of feed-rollers I I, the latter being positively drivenby a pulley i on its shaft, connected by a belt 1" with a pulley i on ashort shaft i which carries a bevel-gear 2", arranged to intermesh witha bevel-gear 0?, carried by the drive-shaft B. The feed-roller I isdriven by its contact with the positively-driven roller I or by itscontact with the label between the two rollers, and it has its oppositeends reduced in diameter, asshown at 11 t, to keep the face of theroller away from the gummed edges of the label, the enlarged centralportion i of the roller being the part which engages the labelintermediate of the gummed surfaces.

' The roller I serves to actuate an endless belt for advancing the labelto its position beneath the bottle, the said belt consisting in thepresent in stance of a pair of elastic bands, (denoted, respectively, byK K,) which extend around the roller 1 and around a second roller 1mounted in suitable standards a a, uprising from the table A and locatedat such a distance from the roller 1 as to convey the label thereon intothe desired position be- The arm e for operating neath the body of thebottle. As the label is drawn from the carrying-head F by thefeedrollers I I it will be received on the upper side of the bands K K,and by them will be continued to its position beneath the bottle.

The label is arrested in the desired position by means of stop-pins kfixed to one of the brackets L L-in the present instance to the bracketL-and projecting upwardly above the plane of the bands K K. The bracketsL L are fixed on the table A and are provided with vertically-elongatedslots Z l, which serve as Ways for the vertically-reciprocating movementof the cross-head M, which carries the label-applying device. Thecross-head'M is driven by a pitman m, connected with the wrist-pin of acrank m on the shaft B.

The label-applyin g device consists of springarms, in the presentinstance four spring-arms being employed, one pair for each side of thebottle. The members of one pair of these arms are denoted by N and themembers of the opposite pair by N. They are secured at their lower endsto the opposite sides of the vertically-reciprocating head M, and themembers of each pair are connected at or near their upper ends by rodsor bars, (denoted, respectively, by n n.) For the purpose ofsmoothing'the label on the bottle the rods or bars a n are each providedwith an inwardly-extending yielding cushion, (denoted, respectively, byO O,) consisting in the present instance of flat strips of india-rubber,fastened at their outer edges to the rods n 'n, leaving their inneredges free to bend downwardly as they are brought into engagement withthe opposite sides of the bottle. The bars n n are connected by elasticstraps 0, spaced a short distance apart and adapted to lift the labelfrom the carrier-belt into engagement with the side of the bottle.

The pairs of arms N N normally rest with their free ends sufficientlynear together to permit them to pass upwardly between the bands K K,which form the label-carrier, and when the label has been carried by theelastic straps 0 into engagement with the side of the bottle the freeends of the pairs of arms will gradually separate, passing along upthe0pposite sides of the bottle, the elastic straps 0 stretching to permitsuch movement, and the smoothing cushions or flaps O O tending to pressthe opposite ends of the label smoothly into contact with the oppositesides of the bottle.

When the head M is depressed, the free ends of the pairs of arms N Ngradually approach each other and finally assume their normal positionbelow the belt, remaining there until a succeeding label has beenbrought into positionabove them ready to be lifted into en gagement witha bottle.

For the purpose of applying a neck-label to the bottle simultaneouslywith the applying of a body-label thereto I provide a stack ofneck-labels in the holder P, toward the open top of which they are fedin a manner quite similar to that hereinbefore described in respect tothe body-labels by a follower p, actuated by a screw 19, which screw isin turn actuated bya ratchet-nut p rotated step by step bya pawl 19 ofany well-known or suitable structure, reciprocated by an arm Q, actuatedin a manner hereinafter described.

A label-carrying head R, provided with a face r, of some suitableyielding absorbent materialsuch,for example,as feltand having a chargeof some suitable liquid glue, which is permitted to percolate throughthe bottom of the head R and keep the felt r saturated therewith,iscarried by a branch 5 of an arm S from a position in engagement withthe uppermost label of the stack in the holder P to a position over theseat 0 in the neckrest 0. The arm S is provided with an elongated curvedslot 8, through which a stationary guide-pin 8 projects, the guide-pin 3being fixed to a standard 3 uprising from the table A.

The arm S is operated by means of the arm Q of an angle-lever pivoted toa fixed bracket at q, another arm Q of said angle-lever being the armhereinbefore referred to which carries the pawl for operating theratchet-nut to feed the neck-labels toward the top of the holder.

The angle-lever Q Q is reciprocated by means of a tappet T, pivoted atits upper end to the arm Q at the point t and having a slidingengagement with a stationary pin t on a stationary depending bracketthrough an elongated slot 15 in the tappet. The tappet T is actuated atproper intervals by means of a cam t fixed on the drive-shaft B. As thelever Q Q is operated by the tappet T to throw the arm S, and hence thelabel-carrying head R, upwardly into the position shown in dotted linesin Fig. l a label-releasing plunger r is brought into engagement withthe springcushion c on the overhanging arm a, and the said plunger iscaused by such engagement to strip the label from the face of the felt rand cause it to fall onto the seat a with its glued side uppermost inposition to become attached to the neck of the bottle when the latter isheld in its position shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4.

For the purpose of separating the uppermost label in the holder E fromthe one next beneath it without any liability of lifting the one beneathit when the uppermost one is lifted by the carrier-head I provide atappet, the upper arm U of which is adapted to give the carrier-head F aslight push forward just before it is lifted by the cam 19, the saidtappet being pivoted at u and the lower arm U being in a position to beoperated bya slanting face u, carried by a disk v. fixed to rotate withthe shaft 13.

The operation of the several parts has been quite fully set forth inconnection with the description of the parts hereinbefore given. Theoperation of the machine as a whole may be briefly stated as follows:Supposing the parts to be in the position shown in full lines in thedrawings, with the label-applying device at the limit of its upwardstroke, the label-carryinghead F presenting a succeeding label to thefeed-rollers I I, and the necklabel head R in position in engagementwit-h the uppermost label in the holder P, the further rotation of theshaft B will lower the label-applying device from the bottle D and atthe same time return the label-carrying head F into the position shownin dotted lines in Fig. l. The bottle to which the label or labels hasor have been applied may be then ing advanced by the carrier-bands K Kinto position to be applied, the cam 23 on the shaft B will by a quickmovement lift a neck-label and deposit it onto the seat 0 and returnagain to its position shown in full lines. The bottle to receive thelabels may then be placed in position ready for the upward movement ofthe cross-head M, carrying the label-applying device, which in itsupward movement takes the label from the carrier-bands and smoothlyapplies it to the under side of the bottle. While this label is beingapplied to the bottle, the label-carrier head F receives a slightforward push from the tappet-arm U and then its upward and forwardmovements by the cams Z) and 77, carrying a succeeding label into theposition shown in Fig. 1. The feed of the screws for elevating thestacks of labels in the respective holders takes place step by step asthe label-carrying heads are lifted to carry their labels into theposition to be applied to the bottle.

By the above structure and arrangement of parts I am enabled tosuccessfully feed the labels having any desired contour of border attheir opposite ends, the felts f being shaped to correspond to the shapeof the borders and the central raised portion i of the feed-rollerIbeing made of such length as to pass freely between the gummed portionsat the ends of the label.

What I claim is-- 1. The combination with mechanism for applying thelabel to the bottle and means for supporting labels in a stack, of alabelcarrier comprising a hollow head for receiving a charge of liquidglue, absorbent material secured to the bottom of said head and incommunication with the liquid glue through openings in the bottom of thehead, valves for controlling the admission of the liquid glue to theabsorbent material and means for moving the label-carrier head towardand away from the top of the stack of labels, substantially as setforth.

2. The combination with the label-feeding rollers, one of said rollersbeing provided with a raised central portion, a label-applying mechanismand means for supplying the labels, of a label-carrying head provided onits face with strips of absorbent material spaced apart a distance equalto or greater than the said raised portion on the feed-roller, means 8oremoved. VV'hile the succeeding label is befor supplying liquid glue tothe said strips of absorbent material and means for conveying thelabel-carrier from the supply of labels to the feed-rollers,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with suitable means for feeding and applying thelabels, means for holding a supply of labels in the form of a pile orstack and a label carrying head adapted to engage the uppermost label toremove it to the feeding and applying mechanism, of a tappet adapted topush the labelcarrying head slightly along the plane of the top of thestack to separate the uppermost label of the stack from the nextsucceeding label, means for operating the tappet and means for liftingthe carrier-head, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with the seat for re-- ceiving the bottle to belabeled and the skeleton carrier-belt for advancing the label into beltfrom the label-receptacle and means for holding the bottle in positionto receive the label, of a stop located in position to arrest themovement of the label carried by the belt in a position opposite thatportion of the bottle to which it is to be applied and a reciprocatinglabel-applying device arranged to remove the label from the belt andapply it to the bottle, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a seat for receiving a bottle to be labeled, ofmeans for conveying one label into position spaced from the bottle-seatand a second label into position on the bottle-seat and means for movingthe first-named label from its position spaced from the bottle-seat intoengagement with the bottle, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with a seat for receiving a bottle to be labeled anda stack or supply of labels, of an abutment located above thebottle-seat, a labelcarrying head provided with a label-dischargeplunger and means for conveying the said label-carrying head into aposition over the bottle-seat with the discharge-plunger in engagementwith the said abutment, substantially as set forth.

THEODORE A. WEBER.

Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, O. S. SUNDGREN.

